58 Working with the Activity Graph Service

The Activity Graph service provides a means of enlarging your sphere of interest in WebCenter Spaces by offering recommendations for new connections, suitable items, and relevant Spaces, and by returning more relevant search results. It does this by tracking application activities across users for a period of time. Based on these activities the Activity Graph engine starts to provide recommendations.

This chapter provides an overview of Activity Graph service features and describes how to use them. It includes the following sections:

For Activity Graph task flows to work, the Analytics schema (activities) must be installed and configured, and a connection set up between your application and the Analytics Collector.

58.1 What You Should Know About the Activity Graph Service

The advent of Enterprise 2.0 has enabled users to contribute content at unprecedented rates. In view of this, there is now a need for better information retrieval technologies that are seamlessly integrated with Enterprise 2.0 products, such as WebCenter Spaces. The Activity Graph service provides the solution by leveraging collective intelligence, gathered by the underlying Activity Graph engine, to benefit search and social applications.

The Activity Graph service provides suggestions of people that a user may be interested in connecting with, based on existing connections and shared interaction with objects in the application. It also directs users to Spaces or items that may be of interest, based on similar interactions with those Spaces or items the user is currently viewing.

The Activity Graph service presents these suggestions based on data gathered and analyzed by the Activity Graph engine. The Activity Graph engine provides a central repository for actions that are collected by enterprise applications.

The Activity Graph service serves up its recommendations in the following three out-of-the-box task flows:

Note:

The Activity Graph service task flows display recommendations only if the Activity Graph service is configured in your application. For more information, see the section "Activity Graph Service Prerequisites" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle WebCenter.

Out of the box, the Activity Graph service tracks certain WebCenter objects and actions. However, you can extend the service to track other WebCenter objects or actions, or objects and actions from other applications.

58.2 Working with Activity Graph Service Task Flows

The Activity Graph service task flows expose the functionality available from the Activity Graph service.

This section includes the following subsections:

58.2.1 Adding an Activity Graph Service Task Flow to a Page

By default, the Recommended Connections task flow is included in each user's Profile Gallery, available through the Home Space. The Similar Items task flow is included, by default, in the Document Viewer Related Items pane for files, to show items similar to the currently viewed file.

To include any of the Activity Graph service task flows anywhere else, you must add the task flow to the appropriate page.

To add an Activity Graph service task flow to a page:

  1. Open the page in edit mode.

    See Also:

    For more information, see Section 17.3.1, "Entering and Exiting Page Edit Mode."
  2. Click Add Content in the target region to open the Resource Catalog.

  3. Navigate to the section of the Resource Catalog that contains the Activity Graph service task flows or search for the task flow.

    Tip:

    The presence or location of this component depends on how the Resource Catalog is configured. For example, in the default Resource Catalog, next to Social and Communication, click Open to expose a list that includes the Activity Graph service task flows.
  4. Click Add next to the task flow that you want to add to your page.

58.2.2 Working with the Recommended Connections Task Flow

The Recommended Connections task flow enables viewing and connecting to people considered to be similar to you.

This section includes the following subsections:

See Also:

For general information about connections, see Chapter 31, "Creating Your Social Network."

58.2.2.1 Learning More About a Recommended Connection

Before you connect with someone new, you probably want to find out a bit more about that person to determine whether it is really a connection that you want to make. The Recommended Connections task flow enables this by providing access to the user profile information and by including reasons why the recommendation has been made.

To view information about a recommended connection:

  1. Go to a Recommended Connections task flow.

    Tip:

    By default, you can find a Recommended Connections task flow on the Profile page in your Home Space.
  2. For each of your recommended connections, the task flow includes the name, title, and profile icon of the user. This provides a snapshot to help you decide quickly if you want to connect to this person.

  3. To find out more information about the user, click name of the user to display the User Detail popup.

    Note:

    Alternatively, you can click the user icon to display the user's Profile Gallery.
  4. In the User Detail popup (Figure 58-4), you can view additional information about the user, such as his or her location and current status. You can also choose to view the full profile or contact the user by email or instant message.

    Figure 58-4 The User Detail Popup

    Description of Figure 58-4 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-4 The User Detail Popup"

    Note:

    The information in the User Detail popup depends on the information that the user has provided in their profile, and the services that are enabled in the Space.
  5. Click anywhere away from the popup to close it.

  6. The task flow may also provide a reason why each person was recommended as a potential connection. For example, you may be connected to some of the same people or you may have worked on the same documents or wikis.

    Reasons for recommending a connection are:

    • You share connections with the user

    • You and the user edited one or more of the same items

    • You and the user worked in one or more of the same Spaces

    • You and the user tagged one or more of the same items

    Click the reason to find out more details. For example, a list of the connections you have in common, or a list of the objects that you have both worked on (Figure 58-5).

    Figure 58-5 Details for Reasons for Recommended Connections

    Description of Figure 58-5 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-5 Details for Reasons for Recommended Connections"

  7. Click anywhere away from the popup to close it.

  8. After examining this information you can decide whether to connect to this person, or remove him or her from the list of recommended connections.

58.2.2.2 Inviting a Recommended Connection to Connect with You

If you find a person in the list of recommended connections that you want to connect with, you can do so quickly from the User Detail popup or the user's Profile Gallery.

To invite a recommended connection to connect with you:

  1. Go to a Recommended Connections task flow.

    Tip:

    By default, you can find a Recommended Connections task flow on the Profile page in your Home Space.
  2. Find the person in the list of recommended connections.

  3. Click the name of the user to display the User Detail popup, or the user icon to display the user's Profile Gallery.

  4. Click Get Connected (Figure 58-6).

    Figure 58-6 The Get Connected Link

    Description of Figure 58-6 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-6 The Get Connected Link"

  5. In the Invitation Message dialog (Figure 58-7), enter your own message or keep the default.

    Figure 58-7 The Invitation Message Dialog

    Description of Figure 58-7 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-7 The Invitation Message Dialog"

  6. From the Select connection lists dropdown list, select the connection list to which you want to add this user.

    See Also:

    For more information about connections lists, see Section 31.4.5, "Creating and Managing Connections Lists."
  7. Click Invite.

    If the person you have invited set Preferences to automatically accept all invitations, you are connected immediately. Otherwise, the invitation becomes available in the recipient's Connections page.

    See Also:

    For more information, see Section 31.4.3, "Viewing Invitations to Connect."

58.2.2.3 Removing a User from Your Recommended Connections

If the list of recommended connections includes people that you do not want to connect with, you can remove them, making space for more recommendations. You might also choose to remove someone after you have issued them an invitation to connect. If you do so, the recommendation is removed from the list, but the invitation is not canceled.

To remove a recommended connection:

  1. Go to a Recommended Connections task flow.

    Tip:

    By default, you can find a Recommended Connections task flow on the Profile page in your Home Space.
  2. Find the person in the list of recommended connections.

  3. Click the Do not show this person icon next to the user in the list (Figure 58-8).

    Figure 58-8 The Do Not Show This Person Icon

    Description of Figure 58-8 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-8 The Do Not Show This Person Icon"

  4. The task flow is refreshed with a new recommended connection taking the place of the one you removed.

58.2.2.4 Setting the Number of Users to Display in the Recommended Connections Task Flow

You can control the number of users that are displayed in the Recommended Connections task flow.

To set the number of recommended connections to display:

  1. Go to a Recommended Connections task flow.

    Tip:

    By default, you can find a Recommended Connections task flow on the Profile page in your Home Space.
  2. Click the Display Options icon.

  3. In the Display Options dialog, in the Number of People field (Figure 58-9), enter how many recommended connections you want to list in the task flow. The default value is 5.

    Figure 58-9 The Number of People Field

    Description of Figure 58-9 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-9 The Number of People Field"

  4. Click OK.

58.2.2.5 Controlling Which Users to Include in the Recommended Connections Task Flow

By default, the Recommended Connections task flow includes all recommended connections except those with whom you are already connected. You can change this setting by editing the task flow's display options. For example, you could use the task flow to show users who are similar to you, rather than to show recommended connections. In this case, you might want to include existing connections.

To control which users to include in the task flow:

  1. Go to a Recommended Connections task flow.

    Tip:

    By default, you can find a Recommended Connections task flow on the Profile page in your Home Space.
  2. Click the Display Options icon.

  3. In the Display Options dialog, select the Users I am connected with checkbox (Figure 58-10) to include users in the list of recommended connections even if you are already connected with them.

    Deselect the checkbox to remove users from the list if you are already connected with them.

    Figure 58-10 The Users I Am Connected With Option

    Description of Figure 58-10 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-10 The Users I Am Connected With Option"

    Note:

    This checkbox is not selected by default.
  4. Click OK.

58.2.3 Working with the Similar Spaces Task Flow

The Similar Spaces task flow can be placed on any page in a Space. It provides you with suggestions of other Spaces that are similar to the one you are currently viewing. A Space is considered similar to another Space if the same people interact with it, especially if they edit the content.

Only Spaces that you are permitted to view are listed in the Similar Space task flow.

Note:

The suggestions made in the Similar Spaces task flow are determined based on the currently viewed Space only; they are not specific to the current user.

This section includes the following subsections:

58.2.3.1 Learning More About a Suggested Space

When looking at a Space in the Similar Spaces task flow, one of the first things you will probably want to do is find out more about that Space. This will help you determine whether the Space is one that you are interested in joining or not.

To learn more about a suggested Space:

  1. Go to the Similar Spaces task flow that includes the Space about which you want to learn more.

  2. For each of the suggested Spaces, the task flow includes the name and description of the Space. This provides a snapshot to help you decide quickly if the Space is one that you might be interested in.

  3. To go to the Space to find out more about it, click the name.

  4. Examine the contents of the Space to determine if you are interested in it.

  5. After examining the Space you can decide whether to join the Space, or remove it from the task flow.

58.2.3.2 Joining a Suggested Space

If you find a Space in Similar Spaces task flow that you want to join, you can do so by visiting the Space.

To join a suggested Space:

  1. Go to the Similar Spaces task flow that includes the Space that you want to join.

  2. Find the Space that you want to join.

  3. Click the Space name to open the Space.

  4. In the Space, subscribe to the Space. Some membership requests require approval from the Space moderator so you may not gain access immediately.

    See Also:

    For more information, see Section 49.6, "Joining a Space."

58.2.3.3 Removing a Space from the Task Flow

If you decide that you are not particularly interested in a Space listed in the Similar Spaces task flow, you can remove it, making space for more suggestions. The Space is removed only from your view of the task flow; the Space will continue to be listed for other users, as long as they have permission to view it.

To remove a Space from the task flow:

  1. Go to the Similar Spaces task flow that includes the Space that you want to remove.

  2. Find the Space that you want to remove.

  3. Click the Do no show this space icon next to the Space (Figure 58-11).

    Figure 58-11 The Do Not Show This Space Icon

    Description of Figure 58-11 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-11 The Do Not Show This Space Icon"

  4. The task flow is refreshed with a new similar Space taking the place of the one you removed.

58.2.3.4 Setting the Number of Spaces to Display in the Similar Spaces Task Flow

You can control the number of Spaces that are displayed in the Similar Spaces task flow.

To set the number of similar Spaces to display:

  1. Go to the Similar Spaces task flow that you want to edit.

  2. Click the Display Options icon.

  3. In the Display Options dialog, in the Number of Spaces field (Figure 58-12), enter how many similar Spaces you want to list in the task flow. The default value is 5.

    Figure 58-12 The Number of Spaces Field

    Description of Figure 58-12 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-12 The Number of Spaces Field"

  4. Click OK.

58.2.3.5 Controlling Which Spaces to Include in the Similar Spaces Task Flow

By default, the Similar Spaces task flow does not include Spaces that you are already a member of, but it does include Spaces that you have already viewed. You can change these settings by editing the task flow's display options.

To which Spaces to include in the task flow:

  1. Go to the Similar Spaces task flow that you want to edit.

  2. Click the Display Options icon.

  3. In the Display Options dialog, select the Show Spaces I have worked on before checkbox (Figure 58-13) to display Spaces in which you have performed an action (excluding viewing) in the list of similar Spaces.

    Deselect the checkbox if you do not want to include Spaces that you have worked on.

    Figure 58-13 The Show Spaces I Have Worked on Before Option

    Description of Figure 58-13 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-13 The Show Spaces I Have Worked on Before Option"

    Note:

    This checkbox is not selected by default.
  4. Select the Show Spaces I have visited before checkbox (Figure 58-14) to include Spaces in the list of similar Spaces even if you have already viewed them.

    Deselect the checkbox to remove Spaces from the list if you have already viewed them.

    Figure 58-14 The Show Spaces I Have Visited Before Option

    Description of Figure 58-14 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-14 The Show Spaces I Have Visited Before Option"

    Note:

    This checkbox is selected by default.
  5. Click OK.

58.2.4 Working with the Similar Items Task Flow

The Similar Items task flow provides you with suggestions of other items you might want to view, based on the item you have currently selected on the page.

Note:

The suggestions made in the Similar Items task flow are determined based on the currently selected item only; they are not specific to the current user.

This section includes the following subsections:

58.2.4.1 Populating the Similar Items Task Flow

The Similar Items task flow lists items that are similar to the currently selected item on the page. When you initially display a page that contains the Similar Items task flow, the task flow will probably be empty. To populate the task flow, you need to select an item for which you want to see similar items.

Note:

If the page containing the Similar Items task flow also contains the Document Viewer, the document currently displayed in the Document Viewer drives the content of the Similar Items task flow and you do not need to explicitly select an item.

To populate the Similar Items task flow:

  1. Go to the page containing the Similar Items task flow.

  2. In one of the other task flows on the page, select the item for which you want to see similar items.

    The Similar Items task flow works in conjunction with the following task flows:

    • Documents service task flows:

      • Recent Documents

      • Document List Viewer

      • Document Navigator

      • Document Explorer

      • Folder Viewer

      • Document Manager

      • Document Browser

    • Discussions Manager task flow

  3. The Similar Items task flow refreshes to display items that are similar to the one you selected.

58.2.4.2 Viewing a Suggested Item

If you see an item in the Similar Items task flow that you think might be useful, you can go ahead and view it.

To view a suggested item:

  1. Go to the Similar Items task flow that includes the item that you want to view.

  2. Click the item's name to display the item.

    The way the item is displayed depends on the type of item. For example, documents are displayed in the Document Viewer task flow.

58.2.4.3 Removing an Item from the Similar Items Task Flow

If you decide that you are not particularly interested in an item listed in the Similar Items task flow, you can remove it, making space for more suggestions. The item is removed only from your view of the task flow; the item will continue to be listed for other users, as long as they have permission to view it.

To remove an item from the task flow:

  1. Go to the Similar Items task flow that includes the item that you want to remove.

  2. Find the item that you want to remove.

  3. Click the Do not show this item icon next to the item (Figure 58-15).

    Figure 58-15 The Do Not Show This Item Icon

    Description of Figure 58-15 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-15 The Do Not Show This Item Icon"

  4. The task flow is refreshed with a new similar item taking the place of the one you removed.

58.2.4.4 Setting the Number of Items to Display in the Similar Items Task Flow

You can control the number of items that are displayed in the Similar Items task flow.

To set the number of items to display in the task flow:

  1. Go to the Similar Items task flow that you want to edit.

  2. Click the Display Options icon.

  3. In the Display Options dialog, in the Number of items field (Figure 58-16), enter how many similar items you want to list in the task flow. The default value is 5.

    Figure 58-16 The Number of Items Field

    Description of Figure 58-16 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-16 The Number of Items Field"

  4. Click OK.

58.2.4.5 Controlling Which Items to Include in the Similar Items Task Flow

By default, the Similar Items task flow include items that you have already viewed. It also includes all types of supported items (documents, wiki pages, blogs, and discussion topics). You can change these settings by editing the task flow's display options. For example, you could use the task flow to show only discussion topics that are similar to the selected item.

To control which items to include in the task flow:

  1. Go to the Similar Items task flow that you want to edit.

  2. Click the Display Options icon.

  3. In the Display Options dialog , select the Show items I have viewed before checkbox (Figure 58-17) to include items in the list of similar items even if you have already viewed them.

    Deselect the checkbox to remove items from the list of similar items if you have already viewed them.

    Figure 58-17 The Show Items I Have Viewed Before Option

    Description of Figure 58-17 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-17 The Show Items I Have Viewed Before Option"

    Note:

    This checkbox is selected by default.
  4. Select the Show items I have worked on before checkbox () to include items in the list of similar items even if you have already interacted with them in some way (other than viewing).

    Deselect the checkbox to remove items from the list of similar items if you have interacted with them already.

    Figure 58-18 The Show Items I Have Worked on Before Option

    Description of Figure 58-18 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-18 The Show Items I Have Worked on Before Option"

    Note:

    This checkbox is not selected by default.
  5. Select or deselect the following checkboxes as required to determine which types of items to display in the task flow (Figure 58-19):

    • Show documents

    • Show wiki pages

    • Show blogs

    • Show discussion topics

    Figure 58-19 Options for Displaying Different Types of Items

    Description of Figure 58-19 follows
    Description of "Figure 58-19 Options for Displaying Different Types of Items"

    Note:

    These checkboxes are selected by default.
  6. Click OK.

58.3 Setting Activity Graph Service Task Flow Properties

The Activity Graph service task flows have associated properties, which users with sufficient privileges can access through the Component Properties dialog in Oracle Composer (Figure 58-20).

Figure 58-20 Recommended Connections Task Flow - Component Properties

Description of Figure 58-20 follows
Description of "Figure 58-20 Recommended Connections Task Flow - Component Properties"

For information about accessing the Component Properties dialog, see Section 17.5.2.3, "Setting Component Properties."

The following sections provide information about properties of the Activity Graph service task flows and describe the properties on the Parameters tab:

58.3.1 What You Should Know About the Activity Graph Service Task Flow Properties

The properties on the Parameters tab of the Component Properties dialog control the default task flow content. For descriptions of the parameters on this tab, see Section 58.3.2, "Activity Graph Service Task Flow Parameters." For some task flows, parameters on this tab facilitate the wiring of the task flow to page parameters and page definition variables. For more information, see Chapter 19, "Wiring Pages, Task Flows, Portlets, and UI Components."

Changes to the properties on the Display Options, Style, and Content Style tabs affect the appearance and behavior of the task flow for all users. These properties are common to all task flows. For more information, see Section 17.5.2, "Setting Properties on Page Components."

The contents of the Events tab depend on the events supported by the task flow. For more information, see Section 17.5.2.8, "Working with Component Contextual Events."

All properties on the Parameters and Display Options tabs provide access to an Expression Language (EL) editor, which you can use to select or specify a variable value instead of a constant value. Click the Edit icon next to a property field to open the editor. For more information about using the editor and for descriptions of common EL expressions, see Appendix B, "Expression Language Expressions."

58.3.2 Activity Graph Service Task Flow Parameters

Table 58-1 describes the parameters that are unique to the Activity Graph service task flows.

Table 58-1 Activity Graph Service Task Flow Parameters

Parameter Description Task Flow

Resource Id

The ID of the person, Space, or item to use as a context for recommendations.

For connections, the default value is the expression language token for the logged in user.

For Spaces, the default value is the expression language token for the resource ID of the Space containing the task flow.

For items, the value is derived from the selection event using the EL expression #{wcEventContext.events.WebCenterResourceSelected}

Recommended Connections

Similar Spaces

Similar Items

Class URN

The class of the context. By default the information is derived from the selection event.

Similar Items

Object Name

The name of the Space or item to use as a context for recommendations.

For Spaces, the default value is the expression language token for the resource ID of the Space containing the task flow.

For items, the default value is derived from the selection event.

Similar Spaces

Similar Items

Recipe

A comma separated list of registered similarity calculation = weight pairs. The list determines what recommendations appear and how they are ordered.

For more information about the default recipes for Activity Graph task flows, see the section "Activity Graph Service Task Flows" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle WebCenter.

Recommended Connections

Similar Spaces

Similar Items

Class URN Restrictions

A comma separated list of object classes to exclude from recommendations.

Similar Items

Exclude Object Actions

A comma separated list of registered actions. The task flow will not show people, Spaces, or items on which the logged in user took any of the listed actions.

Recommended Connections

Similar Spaces

Similar Items

Service Id

Used in conjunction with resourceId, and optionally resourceType, as an alternative to classURN for identifying the node class of an object.

Similar Items

Resource Type

Used in conjunction with resourceId and serviceId, as an alternative to classURN for identifying the node class of a WebCenter object.

For example resourceType is used by the Documents service to identify whether an object is a wiki, blog, or document.

Similar Items

Suppress Popup

Determines whether links in the task flow launch content in inline popups (false) or in browser windows (true).

The default value is false.

Similar Items